Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 29th, 2022–Jan 30th, 2022

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

Yukon.

Continue to avoid wind effected terrain. Give the wind slab some more time to bond to the underlying layer.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Saturday night: light flurries bringing 5cm of snow with moderate to strong southerly winds. Low of -8 at 1100m.

Sunday: some light flurries throughout the day bringing 5cm of snow. Winds becoming light from the north. High of -10 at 1100m.

Monday: clear skies with a high of -22 at 1100m. Light to moderate north wind.

Tuesday: clear skies and no new snow expected. High of -24 at 1100m. Winds shifting to light southwest in the afternoon.

Avalanche Summary

We suspect new rider triggerable wind slabs could be found in exposed terrain on north aspects and cross loaded slopes on east and west.

On Wednesday our field team observed a size 2 natural wind slab avalanche on a southeast aspect at 1500m.

Snowpack Summary

Continuous strong southerly winds over the past few days combined with new snow has created wind slab on all exposed terrain on north aspects. South aspects are a mix of scoured and pressed surfaces.

In shallow snowpack areas a layer of loose facets sits at the bottom of the snowpack.

Terrain and Travel

Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.